Getting to the Lido

ABOVE: The Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta (Lido
S.M.E.) boat station is the Lido's transportation hub. It's served by public
ACTV water buses and
Alilaguna airport boats. On
the street in front of the station, you can hire land taxis or board local
buses.

From Venice's historic center

The ACTV, Venice's transit agency, operates several waterbus
lines between the centro storico and the Lido. The most popular are:

No. 1 vaporetto: A scenic route up the
Grand Canal, starting from the Piazzale Roma and ending at the Lido.

Lines 5.1 and 5.2, "circolare"
or circular routes that stop at the Lido as they go around the city in
both directions.

Line 6 (seasonal),
which provides express service between Piazzale Roma and the Lido with
several stops along the way.

From Venice Marco Polo Airport

The Lido is easy to reach from Venice's
Marco Polo International Airport.
Alilaguna runs two airport water
bus lines that serve the Lido on their way to Venice's city center:
Linea Blu runs year-round,
while Linea Rossa operates
from late April through October. Airport boats stop at the Lido S.M.E. station at the
foot of the Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta, within easy walking distance of
many hotels. If you're traveling with heavy luggage, you can hire a land taxi or
catch a local bus in front of the station.

From Treviso Airport

Ryanair, Transavia, GermanWings, and several other budget
carriers use Treviso Airport,
which is located on the Italian mainland about 25 km or 16 miles from
Venice. To reach the Lido from Treviso Airport by public transportation,
you'll need to take an ATVO or Barzi
airport bus from
Treviso Airport to the Piazzale Roma, which is the bus and taxi gateway for
Venice's historic center. From the Piazzale Roma, catch an ACTV vaporetto (water bus) to
the Lido. (The most scenic route--though not the fastest--is the No. 1
vaporetto, which runs up the Grand Canal on its way to the Lido's Santa
Maria Elisabetta station.)

As a practical matter, we
recommend against staying on the Lido if you're flying in or out of Treviso
Airport, simply because connections are so poor.

From
Venice's Santa Lucia Railroad Station

Take the
ACTV's No. 1 vaporetto up the Grand Canal and to the end
of the line at Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta. (Other routes also serve the
Lido, but the No. 1 route is the most scenic and the least confusing if
you're unfamiliar with Venice's geography.)

From
the cruise port

From
the main ship basin at Marittima, take
the Alilaguna airport boat to Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta. (The water bus
leaves from a platform in the bottom of the U-shaped basin, and you can buy
your ticket from the boatman.)

From the
San Basilio pier (used by some small to
mid-size ships), cross the small wooden bridge near the terminal entrance
and walk to the ACTV waterbus stop. Take a No. 2 vaporetto to San
Marco-San Zaccaria, where you can transfer to the No. 1 vaporetto for the
Lido on the same ticket. (If tickets aren't available at the San Basilio
stop, buy your ticket from the conductor immediately upon boarding. Also,
when you reach San Zaccaria, you'll need to walk to pier "F", near the Hotel
Danieli, to board the No. 1 vaporetto.)

Arriving by car

The
ACTV No. 17 car ferry runs from Venice's parking island of
Tronchetto to a ferry pier at Lido San Nicolò,
slightly north of the Lido's main business district. Fares are steep, and
you should book ahead to be sure of a place. Call the Hellovenezia
reservations center at (+39) 041 24 24 between three hours and 30 days of
your planned departure. For more information, read our
ferry article and see
this page at
the ACTV Web site.

Arriving by private airplane

Venice Airport Lido,
a.k.a. Nicelli Airport, is open every day except Monday from 9 a.m. to 6
p.m. It offers a variety of services by prior arrangement, including
passport and customs for non-Schengen arrivals and departures.

Getting around on the Lido

If you're staying in or near the center of the Lido, you won't need to worry
much about local transportation once you've checked into your hotel: You can
simply walk or bike to shopping, restaurants, and the Lido S.M.E. waterbus
station. Still, the Lido does have a number of local bus routes (see
timetable in PDF
format), and taxis are available in front of the boat station.

For getting around on foot, we recommend carrying a map. Your hotel
will give you a free tourist map that covers the local high points, but if
you want something fancier, buy a high-quality map of Venice that
includes the Lido and other islands of the Lagoon. We recommend the Istituto
Geografico DeAgostini's Pianta di Città Venezia (1:4500) or
Touring Editore's Venezia 1:5000 Pianta della Città.
Both maps are water-resistant, so you can use them in the rain.